22) Sun is a rather nervous, irascible star, erratically throwing out heat
and radiation at intervals, showering Earth with results of its nuclear-reactor
storms. Presumably this intimidation factor makes it a fitting subject for
worship by many primitive cultures. Even from its distance, which varies from
91,300,000 miles in January to 94,500,000 miles in July, it makes the Northern
hemisphere summer barely tolerable to humans, and the New Zealand winter more
mild than in the USA at equal latitudes. We receive lethal doses of x-rays along
with magnetic radiation, thankfully absorbed by the two polar zones, creating
the magnificent, colorful display of the Aurora Borealis (and Aurora
Australis).

One important peculiarity of the solar system: although Sun has more than 99
percent of the mass, it has less than 1 percent of the angular momentum. Sun
should be spinning much more rapidly if its angular momentum was proportionate
to its mass. The explanation goes like this: as magnetic lines of force became
entwined in the spinning nebular disc surrounding the forming protosun, this and
gravity would actually impart a rigidity to it. The effect of this would be to
accelerate the outer parts of the disc, thus increase their angular momentum at
the expense of Sun and lead to the formation of the planets along the same
orbital plane.

The nuclear fusion reactions in the heart of Sun convert 5 million tons of
matter into energy each second. It takes more than a million years for energy
from Sun's core to reach the surface and about 8 minutes for it to get to
Earth; remember we receive only a fraction of the energy released by Sun--good
thing.

23)

The cottonwoods stick
up their life
to touch Sunrise. (IJ - 1998)

24) So Sun, which is often considered a benevolent friend, the source of
vitamin D and photosynthesis, is dangerous if taken in too strong a dose. It's
nice to have the seasons. These are a favorite source of poetic refrain, as well
as a practical life cycle stimulant for many plants. The whole community of
agriculture dotes on day length changes (short days between Fall and Spring),
diurnal flux (the difference in temperature between hot days and cold nights)
and vernal periods (winter freezing, and short day growth) caused by the unique
rotation of Earth around Sun and the swaggering tilt of our axis vis-à-vis Sun.
But, alas and unfortunately Sun has no particular expertise in moral
education nor does it create any ethical authority...or maybe it does?

"16 ...just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly
over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until
it fell upon me.

17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which
held me bound. [darkness] When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages,
whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air.
One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the
other--This is my Beloved Son. Hear Him!

18 ...No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able
to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of
all the sects was right--and which I should join.

Infinity is beyond our comprehension and talk
of beginnings or creation runs into the limits of language and is trapped in
paradox. (Septimus Stele: Mathematics, verse 4)

19 I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all
wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an
abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that; 'they
draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; they teach
for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny
the power thereof.'

20 ...When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking
up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon
recovering in some degree, I went home..."

Was this a dream or reality? Or an exercise in creative writing some 18 years
after the presumptive facts. For Smith to have seen an overpowering light is not
unusual in accounts of such epiphany. (see Nonus Stele: Myths - Telos, verse 47)
Moses, Buddha and Paul of Tarsus made similar claims to have been enlightened or
overpowered by light. Most of the information about Universe comes from light,
and light has been used as a symbol of knowledge, wisdom and truth in many
different languages. The message that Smith gives us about religions has some
relevance to the present state of society, notwithstanding its use in the
establishment of what has become the Mormon religion.

Using the most recent, massive telescopes, 8.2 meters in diameter, VLT in
Chile, astronomers from Sweden, Italy, Denmark and Germany have been measuring
and studying light to verify the age of Universe. Measuring minute traces of
radioactive uranium and thorium in the oldest stars -- like carbon dating in
archeology -- suggests a date of more than 12 billion years old. Leaving, for
now, the estimated date of Universe, 14 to 15 billion years, more or less
intact.

The search for knowledge and technology brings
with it inherent responsibilities to use each new invention
wisely. (Quartus Stele: Chemistry, verse 26)

28) Sun is one of many, as we know. Most of what we see as stars are suns of
various sizes, Sun being rather less than average in size and brightness. The
realization that this is the case is fairly recent. Even Copernicus (1473-1543)
and Kepler (1571-1630) held the view that Sun was different than the stars. The
attention given to Astronomy before Nicolas Copernicus was piecemeal and
completely under the influence of dogma, usually religious dogma. His seminal
work, De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium Libri IV, was published in 1543
the same year as the author's death, and placed Sun near the center of Universe,
'heliocentric.' He explained how Earth's orbit makes some planets appear to move
backward in relation to fixed stars. All planets had the same motion around Sun
rather than having a 'punctum aequans' or computational center for their
orbit.

There are many cultures that used computations of the motion of the stars and
planets, and these are incorporated into the layout of their edifices, i.e.
Stonehenge. But none of these computations were in any way an explanation of
what was actually going on and in this respect Copernicus' theory was also
seriously wanting. Copernicus' main contribution was developing a comprehensive
attempt to make the science of that day work better, he being a thorough student
of nature. He constructed a systematic scientific theory more complex than
anything proposed before which then became the basis for further discoveries and
refinements.

29) Copernicus apparently gave credit for his inspiration to a much earlier
philosopher, Aristarchus of Samos (310 BC - 230 BC). He was a master of
geometry who combined this skill with a propensity to watch the stars. He
observed the size of Earth's shadow on Moon during a lunar eclipse, then used
his superior reasoning to deduce that Sun was much larger than Earth and much
farther away than Moon. He concluded that Sun, not Earth, was the center of the
planetary system, that all the planets rotated around Sun and that Earth rotated
on its axis. Aristarchus was also given credit for this theory by Archimedes,
but alas his views were neglected and not influential in changing the
development of intellectual pursuits such as Astrology. Another Greek in about
150 BC, Hipparchus, is known to have charted the positions and relative
brightness of 850 stars, calculated accurately the distance between Earth and
Moon, and was able to predict the position of Sun and Moon for any day of the
year.

Our scant understanding of Universe should
make us humble and receptive to learn and find ways to improve our lives. (Septimus Decimus Stele: Morals, verse 13)

30) Humans are a stubborn lot, and it was not until Johannes Kepler that the
scientific community began to accept the true nature of Universe. He is often
regarded as the father of modern Astronomy because his work was more
mathematical, more comprehensive and more accurate. He showed that the
trajectory of the planets was elliptic around Sun and convincingly severed
the ties between Astronomy and theology, replacing the myths of medieval
cosmology with an explanation of physical causation. He developed three laws
of planetary motion and is given credit for thus developing the first laws of
nature in his work:

A New Astronomy Based on Causation
or A Physics of the Sky
derived from Investigations of the
Motions of the Star Mars
Founded on Observations of The Noble Tycho Brahe

The collaboration between the rigorously accurate observations of the
eccentric Tycho Brahe and Kepler set the wheels of natural Astronomy in motion,
where it leads is largely determined at the beginning of this 21st century.
Because of this early, passionate work and subsequent developments we have
learned to more fully trust the sometimes halting process of science as the
appropriate source of knowledge about Universe. The wisdom of religious
sages has been confined to more mundane activity.

Sirius is the nearest (double) star, about 50 trillion miles away, and its
motion has been carefully measured. Sirius is in joint orbit with a smaller,
'dark companion' named Sirius B. Sirius B is a small star about 30,000 miles
across, 1/20th of Sun but much hotter. Its vital statistics are interesting: it
gives off 1/400th less light than Sun, and curiously has the same mass, a mass
compressed 6,000 times as dense as Earth weighing 1,250 lbs. per cubic inch
while Earth weighs 0.2 lbs per cubic inch. The gravitational pull on the surface
of Serius B is 840 times the pull of Sun's surface, and 23,500 times the force
of gravity on Earth. This is the description of a white dwarf which are quite
common in Universe, about one in 40 of known stars.

The granddaddy of all double-stars is Epsilon Aurigae, with one star a yellow
supergiant 250 times bigger than Sun. But that's not all, its companion is even
bigger - 3,000 times the size of Sun. Many of the stars we see each night are
actually double or triple suns, yet the naked eye sees them as only one star.
The North Star, for example, is actually made up of three single suns.
Castor is made up of six suns. The instinct many species share to form families
and tribes finds its complement in galactic space.

41) The news of August 5, 2000 contained the account of a new discovery. A
new planet orbiting Epsilon Eridani, a star very similar to Sun, has been
identified. The satellite is about the size of Jupiter (by far the largest
planet) according to William Cochran of the University of Texas' McDonald
Observatory. This is the closest star for which a planet has ever been
discovered, only ten light years away. "Scientists discovered the planet by
observing Epsilon Eridani as it wobbled on its axis. That wobble is caused by
the planet's gravitational influence as it orbits the star...the similarities
to our solar system mean it could harbor a terrestrial planet like Earth that
could sustain life."

In 1995, astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz at Geneva Observatory in
Switzerland made headlines with the news that they had found evidence of a
planet orbiting 51 Pegasi, about the size of Sun. They suggest the planet is as
massive as Jupiter yet very close to its sun, only one-tenth the distance from
Earth to Sun. In 1996 a similar discovery for Sun-sized stars occurred in 70 Virginis, in
Virgo near Arcturus, and 47 Ursae Majoris, near Big Dipper (about 35 light years
from Earth). The planet at 70 Virginis is 8.1 times the mass of Jupiter and lies
about as far from its sun as does Mercury. The planet of 47 Ursae Majoris is
calculated to be 3.5 times Jupiter's mass, lies further away, as far as our
asteroid belt, with an orbit of 1,100 days. The hope of finding extraterrestrial
life is more compelling than reading science fiction novels.

The U.S. Naval Observatory will launch a satellite in 2004, Full-sky
Astrometric Mapping Explorer (FAME). This device will determine the distance to
all of the suns on this side of Milky Way and detect many of the associated
large planets. We will have the capability to record the positions, motions,
parallaxes and photometry of nearly all 40 million suns. Then it will be time
for another 'Wow!'

42) The last word on Astrology: The ancient Hebrews, like the Babylonians,
Egyptians, and Greeks, were impressed by Astrology. In The Bible, the
Hebrew word 'mazel' referred to a planet or a constellation of the zodiac, and
the word was invoked when 'fate' was involved. Later, Talmudic sages sternly
warned the Jews to eschew soothsaying and diviners...the Midrash teaches: "The
Holy One forbade astrology in Israel," and it is said that God made Abraham "a
prophet, not an astrologer."

Nevertheless, Jews continue to utter "Mazl tov!" The supernatural or
divination aspects are forgotten and mazel has become 'luck,' "Mazl
tov!": 'Congratulations.'

Maimonides (Hilhoth Tshuvah) taught: "Do not believe the astrologers...our
Torah [holds] that a man's conduct is in his own hands, that no external
compulsion prevents a man from being virtuous or vicious -- except as he may be
so constituted, by nature, and finds it easy or hard to do a certain thing. But
that a man must do, or refrain from doing, something [because of the stars] is
entirely untrue...Astrology is a disease, not a science." (Laws of
Repentance)

A 1986 Gallup poll reports that 52 percent of American teenagers believe in
Astrology, and of course many adults too. If people will believe in astrologers
and Astrology, it's frightening to consider whom or what else they'll
believe.

43) Reading each year the new discoveries of Astronomy is better
entertainment than keeping track of major league baseball for some. Have we
learned enough about Universe to free us from our superstitious nature? Not
that we have all the answers; we may not even have all the questions;so
we must have the attitude of a good student: we must not only want and feel
the need to learn more, we must also approach this study with an open mind and
with all the talent we can muster. As we do that, we should hold to the
notion that many of the answers are found when we look 'in here' instead of 'out
there,' especially those answers of a moral and spiritual nature that are still
in dispute. Universe contains its own answers; however, it does not contain the
answers to our legitimate questions of how to form better societies. Why are we
here on Earth? What should we live for? How can we find meaning in life? and so
on. It remains to the balance of Frame of Reference to disclose these
answers, carefully.

44) The rest of Universe: "In actuality, we can see only those galaxies that
lie close enough to us for their light to have reached us at the present time:
These galaxies, the ones at 'lookback times' less than the age of the universe,
inhabit the observable universe. In all feasible expanding-universe models, the
observable universe is but a fraction of the whole. An inflationary universe
would be incredibly large today, and the observable universe an incredibly small
part of it. If the entirety of an inflationary universe were the surface of
the earth, the observable part would be smaller than a proton. The inflationary
universe might be globally spherical or globally hyperbolic, but to all
observers it would look locally flat. So if we do live in an inflationary
universe it will be very difficult, perhaps impossible, to determine the overall
shape of space, just as it is hard to discern the radius of the earth [which is
pear-shaped] by measuring only a tiny patch of soil." (Timothy Ferris, The
Whole Shebang, 1997) Earth is the next subject of our inquiry.